


The World About To Dawn

by kissontheneck



Series: The Butterfly Effect of Nick Jonas Becoming Marius Pontmercy [1]
Category: Les Misérables RPF, Pop Music RPF
Genre: Broadway, Crushes, First Day, First Impressions, Friendship, Gen, Jonas Brothers - Freeform, Les Miserables - Freeform, London, Prologue, Singing, first day of rehearsal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-06-05 00:29:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6682183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kissontheneck/pseuds/kissontheneck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick Jonas shows up for his first day of rehearsal at Les Misérables and meets a peculiar gang of new friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The World About To Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> Prequel (because I like to work backwards, apparently) to [At The End of the Day](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6577987). My intent is that this is read _after_ that story, because I enjoy origin stories after the fact, knowing what's already going to unfold for these marvelous characters. In theory, you could read them the other way around, but I don't think it's as fun that way. :)
> 
> Thanks, as always, to my super beta, Lady With The Grammar Stick, jehane18.

The morning of his first Les Misérables rehearsal, Joe drives Nick to the theater, beaming the entire way. He keeps talking about how cool it is that he’s back in a show, how he’s proud of him and all the work he’s done to prepare for this day. He won’t shut up about the six weeks of vocal coaching and how amazing Nick sounds now. As for Nick himself, he relaxes into the passenger’s seat, keeping mostly quiet. Of course, that’s a normal car ride with Joe anyway, but on this particular sunny morning, it’s good to save his voice and let Joe hype him up for what’s about to come.

He’s pretty excited about what’s about to come.

Joe bids him farewell on the side of a London street, parking illegally just long enough to give his brother a too-long hug while cabbies honk and curse at them for three long minutes. Nick finds his way into the theater and enters the rehearsal space with mixed emotions of joy and anxiety. It’s been a long time since he’s done something without his brothers – even longer since he’s been on Broadway. The buzz in the air is a positive one, with actors and musicians crisscrossing one another to set up equipment and to embrace friends not seen in a long while.

Nick doesn’t know any of these people, and stands awkwardly to one side, his script tucked tightly under his arm. He’d spent the night highlighting all of Marius’ lines and putting colorful sticky tabs on pages of particular importance. Standing here now, he feels a little foolish about it, like an immature schoolboy. Literally everyone else in the room carries him- or herself with absolute confidence and he feels more than a little out of place.

There’s a table a few feet from the door with a handwritten sign taped to the front: “Welcome new cast members. Please check in here.” A woman with dark hair, glasses, and a pencil tucked behind her ear is there, busy checking off name lists and giving directions to various meeting places around the room.

“Hi,” he says to the woman, who looks up at him with her large eyes. “I’m… new.”

“Of course, darlin’,” she replies in a thick Jersey accent, which immediately reminds Nick of one of his aunts back home. “Name?”

“Nick Jonas,” he answers.

“Oh yeah,” the lady replies, dragging out her vowels. “My daughter was going on to me about you. Big fan.”

Nick smiles like he always does when moms say things like this to him, and waits patiently as the woman finds his name on the list. Suddenly, someone is calling his name somewhere behind him.

“Nick Jonas!”

Spinning around, Nick finds himself face to face with a young woman whose long brown hair falls in waves along her round face. She’s smiling even wider than Joe does, which is saying something.

“Hi,” he manages to say. No matter how many people he meets, he can’t quite get over the experience of having someone know who he is while he knows nothing about them.

“It’s so exciting you’re joining us,” she says. “Good morning, Joan.”

“Mornin’, sweetie,” Joan replies as she checks off the girl’s name too. “Here you go, you guys.”

The girl takes two small rectangles of paper from her, which seem to be stickers, and she peels one from its backing and presses it to Nick’s chest. He tugs at his shirt in order to read it.

 _Hello, my name is Marius (Nick Jonas)_.

He glances up, and before he can ask, the girl is pointing to her own name tag which she has affixed to her blouse.

_Hello, my name is Éponine (Samantha Barks)._

“We do it whenever we have new people,” she explains. “It’s a little less stressful trying to remember a hundred people’s names.”

“Thank you… Samantha,” Nick says, feeling like a hundred people have just gone through too much trouble just for him.

“It’s so cool you’re interested in musical theater,” Samantha continues. “I heard you were in Les Mis before?”

Nick can’t help the smile that fills his face. “I mean, sort of. Not really.”

“Gavroche is sort of important,” Samantha replies, eyes twinkling. “I’d love to talk to you about it, maybe at lunch or something? I mean, we’re probably going to start soon even though it looks like total chaos in here right now.”

“Sure,” Nick replies, a little relieved to be getting this forming friendships thing out of the way. It’s easy when Joe The Extrovert is by his side. But this – this is something entirely different.

“Great,” Samantha says happily. “If you want, you can go meet the rest of the ABC over there. They always gather in that corner opposite the musicians.”

Nick nods and Samantha whisks away to her own corner, where many of the women are gathering. He hesitates crossing the room because this is the part he’s perhaps been the most anxious about. The ABC’s unity is such an important element in the show, and now he’s coming in to replace someone else a dozen other guys have already formed a bond with.

When Nick finally gathers the courage to meet his fellow revolutionaries, he walks up to a stage fight already in progress, encouraged and cheered by loud shouts and barking laughter. Nick can’t help chuckling to himself – it reminds him a lot of home, except that Kevin really will pin his opponent to the ground and Joe has kicked him in the face more than a time or two.

The stage fight ends and the breathless combatants clap one another on the shoulder. The one facing in Nick’s direction flicks his dark blonde hair out of his eyes and quickly catches Nick’s gaze.

“All right, quiet down, guys,” he says, waving his hands for silence. “New guy’s here.”

Nick freezes momentarily as several pairs of eyes turn on him.

“Hadley,” the man greets him, thrusting out his hand along with a smile. Nick glances down to see _Grantaire_ blazoned across his chest.

“Nick,” he replies with a nod. He’s a little distracted by Hadley’s crystal blue eyes and five o’clock shadow.

“We’re glad to have you with us,” Hadley says, sounding genuinely happy. “Don’t mind these jerks,” he adds, flicking his hair again at several of the men who have resumed their own conversations. “They’re just jealous they weren’t picked for Marius.”

Nick’s face falls and he nearly drops his script. “What, really?”

Hadley grins and chuckles to himself. “No, of course not. Don’t forget, Nicholas, there are no small parts, only small actors!” To emphasize his point, he jabs his finger dramatically into the air.

“God, Fraser, if I hear you say that one more time…”

Hadley’s personal space is soon disrupted by a tall, dark-featured man crowding him from behind. Hadley rolls his eyes to the ceiling as the man rests his square chin on his shoulder. Dark eyes catch Nick’s, and for a brief moment he feels frozen to the spot.

“Who we got here?” the man asks without blinking. “New guy?”

“Nick Jonas,” Hadley replies smugly. “Marius.”

The dark-haired man finally blinks and straightens up. Just over Hadley’s shoulder Nick can make out the large letters that spell out _Enjolras_ on his tag.

“Nick, allow me to introduce you to Ramin,” Hadley says. “Iranian-Canadian Londoner, inventor of Broadgrass, and overall pain in the arse.”

“I’m about to give you a pain in the arse,” Ramin replies, shouldering Hadley out of the way so he can shake Nick’s hand properly. “Marius. Welcome.”

Nick is left speechless because Ramin is even handsomer than Hadley. Like, GQ model handsome. Not actually a real human handsome. His firm, warm hand dwarfs his own, and his commanding presence nearly makes Nick take a step back.

“Please don’t start singing like you did last time,” Hadley mumbles, attempting to elbow his way back in front of Ramin. But Ramin is a brick wall, and merely stands there now clasping Nick’s hand with both of his own.

“God, on high,” bursts from Ramin’s throat, and this time Nick really does take a step back, pushed by the rich depth of his voice. Not only is Nick amazed, he’s also scared. His vocal training hasn’t brought him anywhere close to this.

“Here we go,” Hadley sighs, rolling his eyes again. “Mate, that’s not even your song.”

“Hear my prayer.” Ramin’s eyes close, his angled jaw tilted towards the ceiling.

“Show off,” Hadley says. “Do you have to do this every time?”

“In my need… you have always been there…”

Nick isn’t sure what to do. Ramin is still gripping his hand, so he can’t run away, though that would be awkward as well. Besides, he’s never heard a voice quite like Ramin’s before, even though he’s worked with tons of talented musicians.

Hadley leans his temple on Ramin’s shoulder and takes a deep breath.

“He is young…”

Nick’s attention snaps to Hadley, and now he knows he’s absolutely done for. Rehearsal is going to start any minute now and Nick is not prepared for this kind of singing. The entirety of the ABC is going to drown him in luscious, soulful sound as he struggles to hold a note.

“He’s afraid… let him rest… heaven blessed…”

“Bring him home…”

Ramin’s booming voice rejoins Hadley’s in creation of a force so powerful it hits Nick in the chest like a freight train. Both men sail lazily through two more repeats of the words “Bring him home” before coming to a natural end. Hadley shakes his head and Ramin opens his eyes with a smile.

“Would you guys stop fooling around and get yourselves organized? We’re about to start.”

The disruptive comment comes from a passing stage hand, and Nick idly wonders if the guy is tone deaf or something. Why anyone would criticize these two singing makes no sense otherwise. He turns back to the two men who look terribly pleased with themselves.

“New people,” Hadley says to Ramin. “That means it’s a script read day.”

“That’s good because I overdid it at the gym yesterday,” Ramin adds casually, finally allowing Nick’s hand to slip from his. Nick’s skin still tingles with warmth thirty seconds after he lets go. “I don’t know if I can climb a barricade today.”

“Look, Nicholas,” Hadley says, and even though Nick usually makes a face when people call him Nicholas, he doesn’t seem to mind when Hadley does it. “Next couple hours, we press through the script. The director will talk a lot, especially to you and the other newbies. Lunch time, you come with us to the trashy diner down the street where Ramin will continue peacocking and I’ll fill you in on all the downstairs gossip.”

Nick isn’t sure, but he swears he sees Ramin raise an eyebrow at his friend.

“Oh,” Nick replies stupidly, not sure what to make of everything. He suddenly remembers that Samantha already invited him to lunch. “I… I sort of already have –”

“Samantha,” Hadley replies gravely. “She always gets to them first.”

Ramin chuckles and claps Hadley on the back. “Jealous.”

Hadley gives Ramin a squinty look, which only makes the latter laugh harder.

“Tell her to come,” Ramin says, directing his sparkling eyes back to Nick. “She is one of us, after all.”


End file.
